The present invention relates to a process and apparatus for hooping a package with a hooping band wherein the band is removed from a band supply by means of a drive and is then loosely wrapped around the package until the band end is received and held in a joining station, after which the band is retracted and pretensioned, the band end and band in the pretensioned state being joined in the joining station.
For the purpose of hooping a package with one or more hooping bands numerous processes and machines are known. The function thereof is to tension the hooping band placed around the package, to join the band end to the band and to separate the band from the band supply. In the case of machines for hooping larger packages it is known to allow the hooping process to take place automatically and without any manual intervention (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 710,034). In such a process, the package is placed on a base provided with a yoke, into which is incorporated a band movement means, with which the hooping band is moved through the yoke and the package is enveloped in a large loop until the band end is introduced and held in a joining station. The band movement means is then switched over to band retraction, so that the hooping band is placed around the package, tensioned and joined to the band end, while also being separated from the band supply.
In order to achieve a high hooping capacity with such a band hooping machine, working takes place at maximum band speeds. The high speed advance in the yoke-like band channel does not constitute a particular problem and can be relatively easily realized. However, if band retraction and the placing of the hooping band around the package are to take place rapidly and with tension, while protecting the package, but still adequately tensioning same, the band retraction can only take place at the maximum speed not leading to tension peaks on switching off the band drive non-positively guiding the band, because such peaks would either lead to the band tearing or to the package being damaged. This means that the band retraction must take place at a lower speed, which has an unfavorable effect on the hooping capacity.